Dota 2 has been known for having a variety of picks, and the current patch hasn't really settled into a defined meta-game like the past. The International 6, though, is a record-setter in terms of hero variety.
By the end of Day 3 of the main event, 104 heroes had been picked in the entire run of the tournament. Only six heroes have been overlooked in the draft, a staggering amount.
While impressive, it raises the question: Why haven't those last six been picked? Also, a number of heroes that have been picked are surprising, and several previously off-meta heroes have been topping the Most Picked chart. We put our heads together and came up with an overview of the crazy picks at TI6.
Who has surprised us with being picked?
Drow Ranger
Drow Ranger was widely considered a pocket pick before The International began, but she's been one of the most popular choices in the tournament. In this faster patch, the lineup emphasis revolved around fighting and rotations, which is something Drow Ranger lacked in the early levels. The hero was weak in the escape and mobility department and only spiked in damage when she leveled her ultimate and farmed up a couple of statistic-efficient items. But, she's been picked up throughout the tournament, up to a whole 34 times in just the group stage; good for a top 10 ranking for most picked hero.
Her inclusion was a surprise because of the aforementioned weaknesses, but her strengths fit the type of strategy that many teams were employing during The International - split-pushing and stalling. Drow Ranger's ability to strengthen the range heroes on her team, and the archers in the creep waves, naturally pushed lanes. Teams were also using her ability "Gust" in stellar combinations to stun and silence priority targets.
Ogre Magi
In the support role, many teams have been experimenting and adapting. One hero has been a staple for the five-role, though, and it's one that might surprise: Ogre Magi. The patron saint of luck, Ogre's entire kit revolves around dice rolls to multi-cast his various spells, and so teams often found him inconsistent in the past. His ability to bully in lane, however, has been gradually increasing. Buffs to health regen and lowered mana costs helped his early lane phase, and the effects of "Bloodlust" can't be understated; it turns current meta carries, like Drow and Huskar, into monstrous carries.
Naga Siren/Kunkka
Another surprise is the re-emergence of Naga Siren. Many analysts theorized shorter game times coming into TI6, but teams have been utilizing Naga to a surprising extent, extending games and forcing back aggression with her Song of the Siren ultimate. The skill-set is powerful, no doubt, and players have utilized it both in the support and carry roles; the ability to instantly reset any fight dissuades many aggressive initiators , like Faceless Void, from jumping in carelessly.
Synergizing with the Siren, Kunkka has made a massive resurgence in the TI6 meta as a support pick-up. Usually regarded as a carry, using his Tidebringer to splash damage across a massive area, many teams have instead utilized his crowd-control abilities in the support role. Torrent and X Marks the Spot offer reliable, consistent stuns, and his boat-smashing ultimate benefits teams two-fold, through both damage and the friendly buff for teammates.
Naga Siren makes this combo even more potent, allowing Kunkka to simply aim his boat and let Naga handle the set-up. Separate, these two picks are interesting and effective, but together, they create a monstrous teamfight wombo-combo that has been a fallback strategy for many teams in TI6.
Who hasn't been picked (and why)?
Visage
How has Visage not fit a team's plan yet? Visage would fit well with the current pace of the main event of The International. Few games have dipped below 30 minutes, and most seem to sit right in Visage's sweet spot. The hero is a space-creator with the ability to split push with its familiars and finish off early kills and ganks with "Soul Assumption."
In team fights, a skilled Visage player could slow opponents at long range and stun multiple heroes with the stone drop from the familiars and provide a powerful damaging spell in "Soul Assumption" for kill security. In addition, the inclusion of Drow Ranger as a popular carry pick should only bolster the case for Visage because its familiars benefit from the range damage aura of the damaging archer.
The flaws of the hero were obvious coming into the tournament: few players have a Visage, it's a slow hero with a slower stun, and it fit a slower-paced game. But with the games in the main event running longer, it could just be a matter of time.
Leshrac
One of the best strategies in The International centered around a pushing lineup. Teams developed drafts around heroes such as Lycan, Beastmaster, and Death Prophet or wave-clear heroes like Timbersaw, Mirana, and Alchemist to great results. But, the missing Leshrac could soon fit into the ever-growing list of heroes used during the tournament. The explanation for why Leshrac was missing in drafts could be as simple as "there's better supports available." With most of the attention on Elder Titan, Shadow Demon and even Ogre Magi, the level and farm-intensive Leshrac was left off every team's roster. But, if the trend for push strategies does continue and if a team lacks a burst of magical damage, Leshrac may very well be the answer.
Treant Protector
Rounding out the mysterious absences is Treant Protector, a hero that offers both massive map control with its "Nature's Guise" and Aghanim's ultimate, and a strong tool in supplementing rough lanes. Treant might be less in favor now simply due to the prevalence of roaming supports; while the tree can be incredibly aggressive in the early level one or two situations, it falls into a more background-support role as "Leech Seed" loses its edge. Still, Peter "ppd" Dager can roll a mean Treant, and the Living Armor ability is extremely useful for both holding towers and protecting lanes from ganks. Look for this to be a potential pocket-pick in either Alchemist-oriented lineups, or if a team looks to run an aggressive duo-offlane.